Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a jungle gym joint configured to be used for a jungle gym with which infants can play indoors and which can be folded for stowage.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, jungle gyms have been proposed with which infants can play indoors. These indoor jungle gyms are formed by combining a plurality of cubic frames, so that infants can play with them indoors as they do with jungle gyms which are placed outdoors as in parks. Thus, the indoor jungle gyms are play equipment with which infants can play keenly indoors.
There is a tendency that these indoor jungle gyms are getting larger in size. To deal with this, some indoor jungle gyms employ joints to which pipes are connected, and there are known joints which include a folding portion where a pipe connected thereto is folded so that the jungle gym can be stowed compact when it is not in use. Then, the folding portion includes a lock mechanism which prevents the pipe from being folded abruptly when the jungle gym is used. For example, a joint unit of a foldable jungle gym described in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3102074 includes a rotation preventing cover sleeve which is provided on a pivot connecting portion where a fixed pipe joint and a rotary pipe joint are pivotally connected together so as to move back and forth in a reciprocating fashion. Then, a lock pin is provided on the rotary pipe joint to which a pipe is connected, and a lock pin receiving hole is provided in the rotation preventing cover sleeve.
In using this jungle gym, the rotation preventing cover sleeve is fitted on the pivot connecting portion. Then, the rotation preventing cover sleeve and the rotary pipe joint are brought into abutment with each other, whereby the pipe is prevented from being folded at the pivot connecting portion. At the same time, the lock pin of the rotary pipe joint fits in the lock pin receiving hole of the rotation preventing cover sleeve, whereby the rotation preventing cover sleeve is prevented from rotating about an axis thereof. In folding the jungle gym, the lock pin is pushed in so that the lock pin is removed from the lock pin receiving hole. Then, the rotation preventing cover sleeve can be caused to move away from the rotary pipe joint along the pipe.
In the jungle gym joint described above, the rotation preventing cover sleeve is operated to move back and forth relative to the folding portion of the pipe which is formed as the pivot connecting portion so as to restrict the folding of the pipe (that is, the folding of the jungle gym) and release the pipe from the rotation restricted state. To make this happen, the rotation preventing cover sleeve is caused to move back and forth along the pipe, and therefore, there may be a situation where the operating stroke becomes so long that it takes some time accordingly to operate the rotation preventing cover sleeve. In the jungle gym, there are provided many rotation preventing cover sleeves, and thus, it becomes complex and troublesome to set those rotation preventing cover sleeves which are fitted on a corresponding number of pivot connecting portions in the rotation restricted state and release them from the rotation restricted state.